Rory McIlroy has said that 2017 was always going to be a year of transition for him as he battled rib and back injuries throughout winter and spring.
McIlroy failed to make the cut at the US Open at Erin Hills last week and has yet to win on the PGA Tour this year.
Since claiming his first major in the US Open at the Congressional in 2011, McIlroy has only endured one winless year on tour, back in 2013.
After his failure to make the weekend in Wisconsin, the Australian golfer and 1995 PGA Champion Steve Elkington accused McIlroy of being "bored" with golf, a jibe which drew a waspish response from the World Number 3.
But McIlroy was in philosophical mood ahead of the first round of the Travelers Championship this week, reflecting on his ten years on tour.
"I always felt 2017 was going to be a bit of a transitional year...," he told reporters. "It's still got two majors (left) and I'd like to finish it well.
"But if I look back over my first 10 years as a pro, am I happy with where my career's at? I would say, 'yes, I guess'. But I definitely feel like in the next 10 years, that I can do better."
McIlroy also voiced support for the PGA Tour's drug-testing reforms.
The PGA tour said on Tuesday that urine tests would still make up a bulk of examinations but blood screening would be introduced to detect human growth hormone.
Policies regarding player suspensions for illegal drugs use will also be made more transparent.
Last July, he expressed concern over the lack of regular drug testing in golf compared with other Olympic sports and advocated the introduction of blood testing.
"If we're not blood testing we're not doing all we can to make sure that golf is a clean sport, so I obviously welcome the news," McIlroy was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph ahead of Thursday's first round of the Travelers Championship.
"If golf wants to be a sport in the Olympics, it needs to get on board with everything that all the other sports do as well.
"I really don't think anyone should be fearful as I don't think that golf has any sort of drug problem at all. You have to be so careful about what you take, but that's part and parcel about being an athlete."
